Brush fire burning near Buellton caused by truck towing a trailer

Firefighters were busy Wednesday morning battling a rapidly growing brush fire that broke out just before 11 a.m. north of the U.S. Highway 101 and the Highway 154 off-ramp near Buellton.

Smoke and flames were visible for miles. The fire reportedly scorched approximately six acres before being fully contained by fire crews shortly before noon.

A helicopter was used briefly to drop water on the flames.

Firefighting airplanes were called from the base in Paso Robles but were returned as the fire was stopped.

The southbound side of Highway 101 was briefly shut down according to Santa Barbara County Fire Capt. Dave Zaniboni. At one point, the California Highway Patrol reported that heavy smoke was affecting visibility in the area and blowing across the freeway.

The cause of the fire was determined to be a truck towing a trailer, according to Zaniboni. The trailer lost a wheel which caused sparks in the process and ignited the nearby grass.

No structures were threatened and no injuries were reported. Crews will remain on scene until they finished mopping up the scene of what’s being called the Ramp Fire.